NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha crack eased on Thursday for a second consecutive session after Middle Eastern exports increased, although a decline in Singapore inventories boosted hopes for gasoline-blending demand.

The crack slipped to $158.50 per tonne, down $2.35 from the last close. The inter-month time spread between first-half April and May narrowed in backwardation to $13 a tonne after hitting multi-year highs earlier this week.

Middle East weekly naphtha exports increased last week and were assessed at 792,000 metric tonnes (mt), compared with the previous week’s revised total of 720,000 mt, Refinitiv Oil Research data showed.

Meanwhile, India’s Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world’s biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in western India, has deferred a maintenance shutdown of a crude unit to September from March, sources familiar with the matter said.